OVERVIEW
Perinatal deaths data are provided by the State and Territory Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The information supplied to the ABS is that contained in the Medical Certificate of Cause of Perinatal Death prepared by the certifying medical practitioner or coroner. For neonatal deaths, there is also a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death which can be cross referenced with the Perinatal Certificate.

PURPOSE
Perinatal deaths information coded according to the international Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10th Revision (ICD-10) is used as a basis of research by medical researchers and health professionals.

Conceptual framework
Perinatal deaths comprise stillbirths (fetal deaths) and deaths of infants within the first 28 days of life (neonatal deaths). These deaths are defined to include infants and fetuses weighing at least 400 grams or having a gestational age of 20 weeks.

Main outputs
Perinatal causes of death are currently coded using the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD10). Causes of death are assigned in terms of the main condition in the fetus/infant and in terms of the main condition in the mother. Perinatal deaths are commonly cross classified by birthweight, gestational age, age group of mother and State or Territory of usual residence of the mother.

GEOGRAPHIC DETAIL
Australia
New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
Tasmania
Northern Territory
ACT
Statistical Division
Statistical Subdivision
Statistical Local Area
Legal Local Government Area

Comments and/or Other Regions

COLLECTION FREQUENCY
Annually

Frequency comments
Information is collected from the relevant Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages, monthly.

COLLECTION HISTORY
Neonatal deaths by cause of death are available back to the early 1900s (from at least 1910). Perinatal deaths (including fetal deaths) were collected from 1973 using ICD 8, ICD 9 and subsequently ICD-10. Each State/Territory office of ABS was responsible for the collection and processing of Perinatal deaths data registered with that State/Territory up until 1993 when this function was centralised in the Queensland office of the ABS.

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